When Fats, Oils and Greases (FOGs) are poured down the sink they quickly cool and congeal on sewer walls, reducing the volume of effluent the sewers can carry to the sewage treatment plant. FOGs in the sewers increase the likelihood of sewer overflows discharging untreated sewage into the river leading to the sea. FOGs can also block household and business drains resulting in significant remedial work.

Never pour FOGs down the sink or drains!

Stick an SAS FOGs sticker on your splash back to remind you and your family/colleagues that FOGs should never go down the sink or drain. Please send me a FOG Sticker!

Make a fat trap to collect your FOGs and empty into the bin when it’s safe to do so. (The RSPB advise against making fat balls from cooking fats as it can be harmful to birds).

Install a sink strainer, preventing food waste from entering the sewers and blocking drains. Installation is simple, just place the strainer over the plug hole! A shocking 72kg of food is removed from the drain, per household

Put up a FOGs poster in commercial kitchens and hand out SAS FOG leaflets reminding staff of their legal requirements to dispose of FOGs responsible.

When toilets are used as wet bins, sanitary items such as wipes, sanitary towels and cotton bud sticks, as well as other bathroom products quickly block sewers. Blockages in sewers can lead to increased number of sewer overflows resulting in untreated sewage entering the environment, polluting bathing waters and potentially backing up into homes and businesses.

Never use the toilet as a wet bin!

Remember, only the 4Ps (pee, poo, paper and puke) should go down the loo.

Make sure a bin is available in bathroom for sanitary products, ensuring only the 4 P’s go into the toilet.

Put up a Think Before You Flush sticker in public toilets to remind users not to use toilets as a wet bin.

Pass on the Think Before You Flush message to other friends and colleagues.

Every bathing water has a catchment that acts as a ‘collector of water’. Precipitation (rain, snow, sleet and hail) falling within the catchment boundary eventually travels down into the river and carry’s along any pollutants on its journey. It’s important to understand that actions throughout the catchment, sometimes miles away from the sea, can have a negative impact on water quality at the coast. Often beach users only consider the immediate environment to the beach as a potential source of pollution.

Attend a SAS Cleaner Coastal Catchments educational event.

Familiarise myself with my catchment by reading the Cleaner Coastal Catchment sign at the entrance to my beach.

Find out more about my catchment by visiting the Cleaner Coastal Catchment website.

Take positive actions when in my catchment, such as; not using street drains as a bin; disposing of car oil correctly; taking water saving measures; using eco-friendly cleaning products.

Write a postcard to my local farmer to thank them/ encourage them to use Catchment Sensitive Farming methods.

Misconnected drains can pollute local streams, rivers and beaches, damage wildlife and put our health at risk. Half of the houses in the UK are on separate drainage systems so there is a good chance your rainwater pipes and outside drains or road gullies drain to the nearest river or beach. However, do you know where your sewage pipes go to?

Check personal property for misconnections. This can be done by an individual using the guidance provided or by having a professional check the property.

Ensure that any misconnections are changed to ensure correct connection to the sewerage network.

Increased urban developments, with hard standing, non-permeable surfaces (including roads and buildings) leads to a quicker runoff. This means water enters rivers and sewerage systems faster. Often these systems are unable to cope with the rapid increase in water, which can lead to flooding and sewer overflows. Unnecessary use of water in homes and businesses also puts excessive pressure on our sewerage system. While choice of chemicals used in everyday activities can also enter our bathing waters through this route.

Become more water aware, choose to use water more efficiently and reducing catchment flow where I can.

Taking a shower rather than a bath (this will save 19710 ltr per year).

Pollution incidents can occur and take place without the relevant bodies being aware. Pollution incidents taking place without correct investigation can often lead to repeat incidents impacting the environment and coastal waters. It is important for anyone that notices a potential pollution incident to report it to the Environment Agency who can investigate and take appropriate action to protect the environment from future pollution incidents.

Be aware of possible pollution incidents, understanding what to look out for and where.

Beach users put themselves at risk each time they use a part of the coast that has been impacted by pollution. The Safer Seas Service is the only national real time water quality service that provides free, real-time information about the quality of bathing water. Download the Safer Seas Service App